Former State's Attorney With Over 38 Years of Experience

The Common Scenarios of An Apartment Accident

Whether you have rented an apartment or are a visitor at your friend’s apartment, you do not expect to get into an accident in the apartment building. But many people get injured in apartment accidents every year.

Your landlord has legal responsibility, so you should expect reasonable care from the management company or the apartment owner, who should check the building for dangers, repair any issues, and act promptly on your complaints. When an apartment owner is negligent about the building, the people living in and visiting the building can get severe injuries.

Who is liable?

Some property owners do not maintain consistent safety on the grounds of their rented apartment buildings. When an apartment building accident occurs and leads to severe injuries, it can be hard to determine who is at fault and the reason why the accident occurred.

When you are injured in an apartment that belongs to someone, there are situations where the person living in the apartment building can be held liable after a thorough investigation by personal injury attorneys. For instance, if you trip on a mat in the apartment, the landlord has no control over the apartment building accident. However, if you trip and fall on a shuttered floorboard that you had notified the landlord before, then the landlord can be found liable.

For an apartment building owner to be found liable, the danger should be something they know about and have enough time to find a remedy, either by fixing it or by taking measures to prevent the apartment accident from hurting the injury victims.

 Premises Liability Law

Premises liability surrounds injuries that occur on business, residential, or city premises because of the landlord’s negligence. In apartments, the apartment building landlords have a duty to offer the safety and security of common regions that can be recognized as dangerous.

The landlord should maintain common areas like parking lots, fences, recreational areas, and landscaping. It includes; Repairing balconies as required, putting up enough fencing around the pool replacing light bulbs that are not working well in stairways. The building owner should conduct consistent checkups and do repairs when required in these spaces of the apartment building.

If the property owner avoids these responsibilities, they may be held liable for negligence which is the failure to take care of something in the apartment building leading to threatening conditions. If the property owners do not notify the tenants of the danger in common places, and a person suffers from an injury, they may file a premises liability claim.

To recover compensation for the injuries that you sustained from an apartment accident, it is a must for your injury lawyer to prove the relationship between the property owner and the apartment accident during the legal process, he must show the following;

  • The property owner or another person broke a law associated with the security and the comfort of the people living or visiting the building.
  • The injuries sustained were according to what the law aims to prevent.
  • The property owner or another person’s negligence caused the injuries.

Common Apartment Building Accidents

Slip and fall is the most common kind of apartment accident injuries. The accidents occur due to factors such as uneven flooring, leaks, incorrect handrails, and poor lighting. These types of apartment building accidents can be prevented but can also occur without any warning.

Other kinds of apartment accidents include tenants suffering from dog bites in apartment complexes, careless security accidents, parking lot accidents, and wrongful death. Tenants can also suffer from pool accidents and sometimes injuries at the gym, although it is hard to prove who is responsible.

  • Dog Attacks

People can get dog bites in apartments that let pets live in the building. A tenant who owns a dog may be negligent in harnessing it, which can lead to serious injuries. In this apartment building accident case, the dog owner or the apartment owner can be the defendant in a personal injury claim, depending on the circumstances.

The dog owner may be held responsible for the damages that the dog has caused, whether it has ever inflicted injuries before or not. Your landlord can share the damages and the medical expenses if they should have done anything to protect the tenant from the dog injury. For instance, the property owner should have ensured that the tenant did not bring the wrong dog breed inside the building.

  • Elevator Accidents

Elevator apartment accidents can result in severe injuries such as broken bones, head injuries, traumatic amputations, and fall injuries. If the landlord did not take proper care during installation or when maintaining the elevator, he may be responsible for your apartment injury.

The landlord or property owner has a legal duty to check and maintain the elevator as claimed by the manufacturer. Neglecting repairs and having broken building codes can result in an elevator accident.

  • Electrical Problems

Electrical problems in apartment buildings may result in severe accidents like electrocution, fires, and electrical shocks. The accidents can result in scarring, painful burns, or sometimes even wrongful death.

If the property owner knew about the problem but ignored it and did nothing to solve it, You can file an apartment building accident lawsuit against your landlord for the injuries caused with the help of an apartment accident lawyer.

Contact An Injury Accident Lawyer At Michael J Brennan law firm

If you get injured while living in or visiting an apartment building, it is crucial to hire one of the best personal injury attorneys who can act in your best interests. The property owner’s insurance company will try to dispute the liability or convince you to accept an unfair settlement. But at the Michael J. Brennan law firm, we have the best experienced personal injury lawyers who can handle premises liability cases.

Our dedicated team of personal injury attorneys will ensure that they get all the necessary information for your injury case and fight for you to receive the maximum compensation you deserve, such as future lost wages and your outstanding hospital bills. Contact us today with your accident case at 708-726-6901 or visit Michael J. Brennan, an injury and accident lawyer, at 16521 106th CT, Orlando Park, IL 60467 to book an appointment.

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